BrewDog Paradox Islay (Batch 008) - Bowmore 1987 | BrewDog

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A - Pours with a scant half finger of medium-brown foam on a black body with ruby highlights. The head settles rapidly and leaves minor lace; despite the weak foam this is very nice looking beer with good color.

S - Rich, complex malt. Buttery carmel notes with some chocolate and smoky coffee. There is a distinct, peaty tobacco note from the whiskey cask that gives the impression of this being as much a Scotch Ale as an Imperial Stout.

T - Smooth, dark caramel malt and strong, smoky, peated whiskey notes. Strong smoky phenolic notes come to dominate in the middle with lots of wood and some medicinal, but not unpleasant peat. Some malt manages to surface again in the finish with notes of coffee and dark, dark chocolate, but the whiskey is the prime mover here with charred wood, smoke, cigar tobacco, and even a bit of alcoholic sharpness to complete the effect. There is a lingering smoke flavor as well as fruity, caramel malt on the palate that seems to only be present in the aftertaste.

D - Well, this is certainly no session beer, but it is a distinct and enjoyable sipping beer. The whiskey flavors are huge and dominant; clearly this has gained a lot from its time in the cask. There is obviously a nice, rich Imperial stout under there somewhere, but it has been greatly enhanced by the barrel aging and it has become something truly unique. I appreciate the merits of good scotch, but I am not inclined to drink it; what I really appreciate about this beer is that is brings much of what is great about Scotch to the table and does so in a package that I find much more palatable. This is one of the most complex and easily the most distinct barrel aged beer I have yet had. If I get the chance, I will definitely try to get my hands on some of the other beers from the Paradox series.

Appearance: Pours a dark brown, near black body with no more than a few random bubbles.

Smell: Dark maltiness with a fair amount of chocolate, then it's a super-duper intense smokey peat scent that borders on smelling of medical grade rubber.

Taste: Chocolatey dark malts and again there's that knee-buckling peat character followed by a rather pronounce alcohol presence and a drying ashiness. Dash of table salt. Good grief! This is one of those beers that leaves you looking for a glass of cool, refreshing water.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-low carbonation.

Drinkability: Preferred the 005 by far as this was more than a little overblown on the peat for me.

no light coming through on this one at all, but also no head as the flat, lifeless body just laid there, quite odd indeed. aroma is dark peat, hints of campfire smoke, notes of light cocoa, and a hint of deep burnt notes, but that was the highlight as it went down from there. very lifeless, flat body did not let the taste come through nearly as much as it could have and this led to a rather lackluster profile. nice barrel notes, loads of wood and peat

My long journey through this series continues. This one pours a typically murky and oily black-brown topped by a minimal layer of dirty brown bubbles. The nose is dominated by lightly-peated whiskey, followed by some oak, some darkly-roasted malts, some dark chocolate powder, and a touch of char. A bit too much whiskey for its own good, but still generally pleasant. The taste follows pretty closely, but with more cocoa, a smoother (and less boozy) whiskey, and some additional notes: light vanilla, gooey caramel (yeah, I tasted the gooey-ness), and light coffee. The body is a straight medium, with a light carbonation and a silky smooth feel. Normally, this would hurt an impy stout, but the feel really seems to help this one along. Overall, a very nice barrel-aged stout, one that melds very well with its barrel.

Paradox Islay batch 08 pours brilliant deep dark brown with a thin tan cap. I have a Bowmore in one hand and the batch 8 in the other and the beer smells like a Bowmore. This is a tamer scotch than some of the other Islays but the light smoky peaty salty flavors and aromas go very well with the coffee chocolate stout flavors. The beer has the full stout body and the slightly below average stout carbonation but its scotch character is so large it almost isn't a scotch but is an entirely different animal.

Thanks to hopdog for sharing this. Bottle is labled BB 22/12/08 (Batch 8)...
Appears dark brown, bordering black, with a small tan head that slowly fades out. Scattered lacing is left around the glass.
Smell is of smoked malt, smoked peat, smoked cocoa...a tad too much overkill on the smoke IMO.
Taste is of the same smokey aromas with vanilla, and cocoa coming up behind the smoked peat malt.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied withtons of smoke and cocoa with a smokey beef jerky flavor lingering.

11.2 ounce bottle, Batch 008, Best before 6/6/2009. Served in a Sam Adams BL glass, the beer pours dark brown/black with a small tan head. Head retention is low, lacing is OK. The aroma is scotch, peat, wood, and chocolate. The taste is similar to the aroma, but there's a strong smoke and burnt wood taste too. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a little thinner than I like my stouts to be, but you can tell there's some substance to this brew. Carbonation is low, and it's nice and slick. Drinkability is good, it is very smooth and it goes down easy. I really didn't know what to expect from this beer at first. It took me more than a few sips to decide whether I liked it or not. But the longer I drank it, it grew on me and I did enjoy it. If you like barrel aged and/or smoky beers, then you should give this one a try. I'd buy this again.

Pours a pitch black color with a thin bubbly yellowish tan head that quickly fades leaving only minimal spots of lacing behind.

Nice peaty aroma with lots of bourbon/whiskey in the nose. Hints of earth, oaky wood, roasted malt and sweet alcohol. The booze kind of overpowers the stout notes but it still smells pretty amazing. Hopefully it's not a complete bourbon bomb.

Thankfully this beer taste more balanced than it smells. Very smooth and quaffable with a nice amount of roasted chocolate and caramel maltiness balancing out the boozy heat. Hints of earthy oak and lots of peat to go along with the sweet alcohol and bourbon notes. Medium bodied and creamy and a nice balance of wood, roasty malt and booze with a slightly dry finish. The ABV is decently masked making this very drinkable. This should age pretty well. Not bad.

T/M: Vanilla-sweet and creamy-smooth. Not as thin as other three-year-old Paradox beers. Substantial; appealing. The maintaste contains roasted barley, smoky vanilla, thin strands of alcohol, and subtle berries buried in the dark beer. The aftertaste is reminiscent of the ashy finish of an Islay malt (Bruichladdich comes to mind, but that's just me). Complex and rewarding.

O: This is a well-crafted Imperial Stout that has stood the test of time. It benefited significantly from barrel-aging in the young Bowmore casks. Highly recommended it you can find any. My favourite so far of the Paradox series. I would drink again (but of course!).

Whoa, killa beah. Got this bottle a few months ago at Sam's in Chicago. Poured it aggresively but had a small tan head and no lace. Virtually opaque with slight deep garnet highlights. Aroma is divine: malty, roasty, caramel, peat, vanilla, coffee, dark chocolate, whisky, and leather. Flavor's about the same but with a little bite or tang. Lovely bittersweet and mouthfilling. Body is ok, nothing special but not bad. Very boozy finish. A sipper, not a session beer.

APPEARANCE: Pours a very small thin looking tan head that quickly disappears, leaving a bit of wisp around the edges. Color is pitch black and basically no carbonation evident. A small wisp remains and amazingly leaves a little bit of splotchy lacing down the glass.

SMELL: A bold nose of whisky, black licorice and plenty of earthy qualities, like tree and some smoked or burnt wood, and some peat in there as well.

TASTE: Follows the nose quite closely. Some roasted malt and peat up front, but the whisky is the more dominant feature. Earthiness again, as well as some smoked or burnt oak wood again. A slightly bitter but more boozy aftertaste has hints of smoke in there as well. Aftertaste is mild but long lasting. Lots of wood qualities and whisky here. Interesting stuff.

PALATE: Medium-thin body with lower end carbonation. Somewhat lighter on the palate. Creamy and somewhat oily slick on the palate, goes down smooth enough with a bit of an alcohol bite at the very end. Finishes slightly sticky.

OVERALL: Pretty nice. A solid brew I'd have again. Thickening up the palate would help this one out immensely, but non-the-less, this is an enjoyable brew worth checking out.

Pours almost black in the glass, though it shows a deep mahogany when held up to light. The head is short lived and bubbly, leaving a thin ring on the way down with spotty lacing.

The aroma has tons of scotch with dark chocolate malts underneath. There is lots of peat in the nose as well as some smoke and hints of vanilla sweetness.

The taste is also very earthy with lots of peat and smoke as well. There is some chocolate malts underlying things but they're definitely in the background with the boozy peat taste dominating throughout.

The mouthfeel is a bit thin for me with very little carbonation.

This was an OK beer but you better like peat and smoke if you're going to try it. I've had better Paradox brews.

Poured a dark black color with brown edges and a small sized off white head. Aromas of smoke, plastic, earthy, and peaty. Tastes of dirt, earthy, smoke, ashtray, chocolate, and some caramel. Light alcohol in the finish.

Bottle dated 10/10/09 (Batch 008) at room temp into goblet
Got this on line from Beer Temple in Dec 2012.
Aroma woody with alcohol overtones
Head small (1 cm) rocky, light brown, diminishing to a ring.
No lacing.
Body dark brown/black.
Flavor begins with heavy dark fruitiness like dates or figs, but no so sweet; ends quickly.
No diacetyl, no hops, no alcohol flavors, not particularly peaty nor smokey.
No distinct aftertaste, just feels like something’s caught in my throat.
Medium to full body, creamy, soft carbonation.

Not a bad beer, just unremarkable. Maybe an example of an imperial stout that grows less complex with age, or an example of pearls before swine.

Wow. This has to be one of the nastiest brews I've had of late. The whisky barrel smell hits you immediately, and like a ton of bricks. It continues from there, slapping you with a mouthful of roasty malt and alcohol.

The nastiness continues in the aftertaste, and the best part is when you can't taste it any more. I wish I could share it with someone so I could drink something else.

When I bought this I was hoping it wouldn't be like other Scottish ales but my worst fears were imagined. If you don't like other Scottish brews, you won't like this either.

Taste is big on peaty whisky without being too overbearing. The base stout is still lurking there with smoked malt and dark fruit flavors complimenting the whisky. It has picked up a good bit of barrel too, with plenty of smoke, wood and vanilla. Flavors blend well and really hide the 10% abv.

Body is much thinner than I would have expected but smooth and creamy. Medium bodied with almost no carbonation.

Overall this was a delight. I liked it much more than the Smokehead. A well crafted barrel aged imperial stout. Despite the best by Oct '09 printed on the bottle I think it has stood the test of time outstandingly. The age has settled the booze, mellowed the whisky and let the flavors blend.

A: Very deep dark brown/black. Very thin head on top.. white, and dissipates quick.

S: Deep smoke, like smoked meat. Slight tart scent like preserved cherries.. But mostly smoke. Then the alcohol hits you a little. Very nice..

T: Wow. That is nice.. Starts off a little tart, then the smoke comes in, gentle and soothing like a campfire on the beach after a rainstorm.. backing that up is a rich stout with a lot of coffee flavor. I can see how this would be an odd one for someone who is not a fan of this style of scotch.

M: Based on the pour, head, and appearance in the glass, I thought this one might be a little thin, which the end is a bit, but not what I thought it would be. However, no knife or fork needed for this guy.

D: Not as heavy as I wanted, but good smoke taste, and yummy. Not an everyday beer, as the price would kill me. But a very nice change, and a perfect beer for a cigar.

Pours brown, but appears black in the glass. Nose dominated by single malt scotch, with hints of malt nuances. Flavor is terrifically complex, with hints of fudge, cocoa, chocolate and raspberry, combined with the barrel elements of peat and toasted wood. It has a lot of depth and the finish seems to go on and on. Really outstanding now, but young, give it a year or two and it could be sublime.

A - A dark reddish brown. Not much head and what little there is shrinks to just enough to cover the top of the liquid.

S - Very smoky. I would have called it a smoked beer by scent alone. Also some cherry like notes as well. The whiskey/bourbon like scent is also there.

T - The smoke again comes forward. I don't know much about scotch whisky but the smoke is overpowering the flavors I see in american bourbon barreled beers. I can't say if this then fits the style or not. Personally the smoke is too much.The alcohol bite waits untl the sip is finished to show up.

M - Thick and coating. No noticable carbonation. A good mouthfeel for a taste this seems off to me.

D - The thick smoke and high alcohol makes this a have only one beer for me. I wish I knew more about whisky to say if it was a good blend and shared the right characteristics.

I have to admit that coming out of the bottle this beer pours a thinner black than most stouts of this style. Body does settle to a lack of light blackness in the glass. Hosts a inch of biscuit brown head that fades to a bubbly skim in a couple of minutes. Nose is first off smokey with a bit of barbecue and dust. The Whiskey and sweetness is there but more in the backround. With first sip you get a very ashy feel with a hint of sweetness. This ashy feel is oddly like drinking a beer through a hash pipe with cigarette smoke in it. I could understand if it were peat smoke but it really doesnt have that feel. Mouthfeel is like smoking a cheap cigar. Drinkability is a hint less than average.

12oz bottle is barely filled into the neck - not sure how I didn't notice that before. Pours a black color with very little head and no retention and leaves no lacing on the glass. The aroma is a mixture of wood, booze, and smoke/peat. The flavor is almost all smoked malt with a bit of burned character that I don't particularly care for. Very astringent. The mouthfeel is oily and medium in body. Drinkability is not great due to the oily texture.